Josh Hartnett and Tamsin Egerton are expecting their first child.

The 'Penny Dreadful' actor and his 26-year-old girlfriend are ''beyond thrilled'' to be starting a family together, the 36-year-old star's representative has confirmed.

The spokesperson told the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column:''It's true and they are beyond thrilled.''

The couple met on the set of 'The Lovers' in 2011 and began dating the following year.

Josh - who previously dated actresses Kirsten Dunst, Scarlett Johansson and Amanda Seyfried - recently spoke about his desire to have children.

He said: ''I have to get a car that's safe for my kid. I don't have a kid yet, but that's the idea coming into my head these days.''

And the 'Black Hawk Down' actor also admitted some of his on-set romances were ''mistakes''.

He said: ''I've met very important people in my life doing films. Sometimes that had consequences that were just awful for everybody involved. Some were fantastic all the way through. Everybody makes mistakes dating people they work with.''

But Josh has no real regrets.

He added: ''They're whom I'm attracted to. Because I share experiences with them and understand a bit about what they are and what they do. If I were able to go back in time, I don't know if I could have done anything any different.''